


[animated love]

by JackOfTheBox



Category: Original Work
Genre: Androids, Artificial Intelligence, Homophobia, M/M, Non-human characters, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Non-Binary Character - Freeform, Original Universe, Robot/Human Relationships, Science Fiction, Violence, War, gay nerds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-17 04:39:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14825403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackOfTheBox/pseuds/JackOfTheBox
Summary: The year is 3075 and the human race is at a population of around 3 billion. The countries of the world have long been unified as a singular nation, but with the Government's limited knowledge of AI and their want to repopulate the world, relationships with AI units are forbidden, as well as the members of the LGBT community.Rilyn Jonson is 17. He's an honor student, a model son, an outstanding member of society, and oh yeah- in love with his best friend Dmitri. But running from the law might end up being much more than he bargained for.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted a story in which all the heroes are the people you usually don't see at all, let alone at the good guys. So [animated love] is for everyone, whether you're L, G, B, or somewhere in between or not at all. So, guys, gals, and non-binary pals, this one's for you. For all of us.

**_January 21, 2822. Televised victory speech by Sazanov Geogiy, Founder of the Collection and First Collector_ **

_Today is a wonderful day for the Collection. We have succeeded in the union of all countries in the world, which will henceforth be Sectors, labeled in order of annexation. We will continue to better the Collection from this day forward, for the lives and wellbeing of our people, their children, their children’s children, and beyond._

_Joining the Collection took the lives of far too many bravely dedicated men, who will be honored in their death as they should have been in life. I must thank those who valiantly fought for this whole nation, which will soon be bursting with the laughter of happy souls._

_After my address to all of you ends, you will be instructed on where to go to find the new laws of this nation. For those of you with jobs that will no longer be necessary, you will be assigned a new position. Any contraband you have will be collected in the weeks that follow as determined by your Sectoral Government._

_We in Government wish not to harm you or your families, but to improve your quality of living. Everyone deserves a place in the Collection, no matter your social or economic status. Only through love and togetherness can we move into the future with bright eyes and hearts full of hope. The Collection is not meant to harm you and wishes that your days be only full of joy and good health. We are for the future and the betterment of society._

_And a society cannot move forward without the assistance of its people. So, citizens, it is now that I ask you to comply with any and all laws in your area. In order to establish and maintain peace, I must also ask you to participate in what is asked of you by your Government officials. Uprising is the last thing a new society needs._

_I am again very happy to say that as a species, we are now closer than we ever were. Country borders are a thing of the past, illegal immigrants no longer exist. The Collection protects its people simply by being alive, and to assure you of this fact, I am proud to announce that my partner in ruling over all of you is the latest AI and the most advanced of its- of her- kind. I hope you all welcome Harmony as I have._

_In a few moments, you will be instructed on where to go for new laws and to be informed of contraband items. Please cooperate with the officials. Remember what the Collection is for as you do- For the betterment of society. I thank you for your acceptance and cooperation. Goodnight._


	2. One: Rilyn

_April 3, 3075_

**“** The air’s awfully warm for spring, don’t you think?” I pushed my sunglasses further up onto my nose and looked up at Dmitri, who seemed not at all concerned about the heat. In fact, he looked like he hadn’t even noticed the heat, let alone my question. Instead, he seemed completely engrossed in the large group of people outside the coffee shop we were walking to. “Dmitri? Hey, are you listening? I said it’s awfully warm out.” Dmitri blinked and looked at me.

“Yeah, yeah. It is, isn’t it? Sorry, I spaced.” He flashed me a smile that was almost too cocky to be apologetic. I rolled my eyes and brushed my hair out of my face.

“They seem busy today,” I noted. Usually, the little shop was near empty, but today there was a metric fuckton of people outside the doors. “Do you think they introduced a new flavor or something? Because, like, I heard they were thinking about it, but I hadn’t heard what flavor. I guess it’s really popular, though, or no one would be- “

“They’re protesting.” I looked at Dmitri, slightly surprised by the serious tone in his voice. “Didn’t you tell me they’d just hired android workers here?” I nodded and turned my attention back to the group of protestors. They seemed upset, and a few had made signs saying things like “No heartbeat no human rights” and “Don’t let AI steal our jobs.” I had heard about the protests, but I thought they were only in Province One and the first few Sectors. This was a small town in Province Three, but something about the large group of people suddenly made everything happening everywhere else suddenly real.

“Can- can I borrow your sunglasses?” I was shaken out of my stupor as Dmitri brushed my shoulder putting a hand up to cover his eyes. I looked up at him and felt a rush of sympathy for my friend. As long as I had known him, Dmitri had been ashamed of his eyes. Apparently, he’d been born with some kind of disease, and his pupils were more of a soft triangular shape than circles. Androids had eyes like that, so Dmitri was the center of a lot of bullying. It made sense he wanted his eyes covered. I handed my sunglasses over and winced slightly at the bright sunlight.

I felt awful that I’d dragged Dmitri to this coffee shop, especially since Dmitri didn’t drink coffee and now he might be attacked just for a deformity. I almost couldn’t believe some people could be so cruel, but apparently, things had been even shittier before the Collection formed (my history textbooks said people got killed for things like the color of their skin). At least these people were only voicing their rude opinions, even if they were rather loud.

“Come on, we should get inside before there’s too many of them,” Dmitri said, low in my ear. He pulled me by my elbow into the shop, shouldering past people and occasionally apologizing so as to not sound rude.

The shop was much more peaceful inside. Soft piano music drifted through the air and the bitter smell of coffee danced with the sweet scent of baking bread and cakes. The line was short, and a kind-looking android stood at the register. She smiled at me sweetly.

“What can I get you two?” She asked, her voice sweet and smooth, like honey. Her nametag read ‘Crystal’.

“He’ll have a vanilla latte and one of the, uh, chocolate cupcakes,” Dmitri answered, his voice just as soothing. If Crystal’s voice was honey, I thought Dmitri’s must be made of melted chocolate. My stomach grumbled at the thought of anything chocolate, and it was then that I noticed Dmitri hadn’t ordered anything for himself.

“Oh, aren’t you going to eat? You’ve had nothing all day!” I said, tugging on Dmitri’s sleeve. “He’ll have a sandwich, um, doesn’t matter what kind, just surprise him! He likes anything, don’t you?” Crystal glanced skeptically at the hand still on Dmitri’s arm and I quickly pulled it away. Crystal smiled again and typed in our order.

“Of course.” She typed something else in. “Your total is two and a half Bolts.” Dmitri sighed dramatically as he handed Crystal his Bolt card.

“You’re really emptying my pocket, Ri. One of these days I’ll no more Bolts for your vanilla whatevers. It’ll be dust in my pocket.” Dmitri pressed his hand to his forehead as he took his card back. “My card feels lighter already!” I laughed and whacked Dmitri’s arm. Every time we went for coffee, or a movie, or dinner, Dmitri teased me about liking him for his money and emptying his pockets, but I had never actually been in a situation where Dmitri was low on money. I have no idea what he did for work, but he always had enough money to be Upper class, even though he claimed to be from a Lower class family.

“Oh hush,” I told him, “your pockets are always empty anyway. All you ever carry is that card.” Dmitri gasped loudly but I yanked him to a table before he could say anything else and show off in front of the other people in line. “Just sit. There’s no need to make a scene.” I plopped Dmitri down in a seat and sat across from him. Dmitri crossed his arms and stared at the table with an exaggerated pout.

“I don’t ever make scenes. You won’t let me,” Dmitri whined. I rolled his eyes and took his hand across the table. It was warm, and for a moment I forgot what I was gonna say. I hate when that happens.

“That’s because you can get fined for extreme disorderly misconduct with violent intent, and I’d prefer it if I wasn’t friends with a criminal.” Dmitri groaned and set his head down on the table. He mumbled something into the glossy wood. “What?” I leaned closer, but Dmitri just mumbled again. I squeezed his hand. “I know you hear me, Dmitri.” Dmitri did not answer. “Dmitri Airen, if I have to drag your ass out of here I will. What’d you say?” I was quickly getting impatient, and I wasn’t sure if it was because Dmitri was being somehow both endearing and infuriating, or if it was because I was hungry. Dmitri turned his head to the side.

“I _said_ ,” he answered bitterly, “wouldn’t being friends with a criminal be more fun?” He sat up and grinned and I pulled my hand away. I shook my head as Dmitri grinned wider, that stupid kind of grin like he was about to cause trouble and get away with it because he was ‘too charming to be caught.’ Not that I disagree, but charm alone isn’t enough to keep you from getting arrested.

“Not if the criminal’s you. Besides, the police would probably think you’re too much of an idiot to have committed a crime anyway.” I leaned forward on my hands, shoving down a laugh at the look of offense that crossed Dmitri’s face.

“They wouldn’t think I’m an idiot!” He protested. He opened his mouth to whine some more, but fortunately for me, Crystal brought our food.

“Enjoy!” She said, in that voice like silk. I carefully peeled the wrapper off my cupcake and watched Dmitri pick unenthusiastically at his sandwich.

“Hey,” I said around a mouthful of cake, “aren’t you going to eat?” Dmitri blinked and looked at me.

“I’m… not hungry.” I was not convinced, and it must have shown on my face because Dmitri sighed and made a point of taking a rather large bite of sandwich. He somehow managed to finish his sandwich before I finished my cupcake, but in my defense, it was a big cupcake. Dmitri leaned on a hand and watched me as I ate, but I got the feeling it wasn’t me he was looking at. I turned to look out of the window behind them at the group of protestors, and close to the window was a pretty girl, maybe sixteen, trying to get through the crowd.

“Oh. She’s pretty.” I turned back to Dmitri, who was now looking me directly in the eye. He blinked.

“Who?” Dmitri asked. He leaned back in his seat, a faint smile on his lips.

“That girl, in the crowd. She’s pretty. That’s who you were looking at, right?” Dmitri looked past me at the girl and shrugged. “What do you mean,” I shrugged mockingly, “Do you know her or something? Or do you just think she’s pretty? Either way, staring is creepy, so cut it out.” Dmitri smiled for real this time.

“I wasn’t staring, I was looking. Just not at her.” I started to turn to see if I’d missed someone else in the crowd worth staring at. “Don’t bother turning,” Dmitri told me, “I was looking at you, Rilyn. I don’t need to find someone better when you’re sitting right in front of me.”

I felt my face heat up as my gaze fell immediately to my lap. Dmitri was always saying things that would get him in trouble. Things like _that_. I knew I was kind of slim for a boy, and not exactly the manliest, but that didn’t mean I’m not a boy. I appreciated compliments, but the ones from Dmitri confused my feelings and made my head spin. Boys were supposed to say those sorts of things to girls, not other boys. My parents had told me it was wrong, and even if they hadn’t, people like that were illegal. Whether or not I wanted to hear it didn’t matter.

“Dmitri…” I started. It felt like I’d told him too many times to stop, and by now I wondered if I should just let him go.

“Don’t.” Dmitri sighed. “I know you’ll just lecture me, so forget I said anything, alright?” He stood and brushed a few stray crumbs off his shirt before shoving his hands in his pockets. “Come on, Ri, I’ll walk you home.”

The group of protestors had been broken up by a few police officers, and the especially rowdy ones had been taken to a holding building until they paid their fine for public violence. Dmitri handed my sunglasses back. He was staying at least a foot away from me, no matter how narrow the sidewalk, and it made me feel awful. Just because we couldn’t legally say those things to each other didn’t mean I had to be a dick about it.

“I’m sorry, I- “

“I said forget it.” I winced. I wasn’t used to Dmitri’s silken voice sounding so sharp and harsh. I looked down and heard Dmitri sigh. “I’m sorry I snapped at you. Just… forget it. Please.” I started to tell him that he didn’t need to apologize, that it was me that needed to be sorry, but we’d stopped in front of my house. I didn’t want to have this conversation anywhere my parents or brother might hear.

“Can I come in?” Dmitri was looking at me and had moved to stand only a few inches away from me. I glanced at the house. It didn’t seem like anyone was home, so I led him inside and up the stairs to my room.

I flopped onto the bed and hoped Dmitri didn’t think my room was too messy. I’d cleaned it a few days ago, but… still. I had a few shirts and books lying around from where I’d been too lazy to pick them up. God, I’m such a slob.

Dmitri sat respectfully at my desk, as though he was purposefully trying to keep distance between us. He was sitting on the chair backward though, so maybe he just wanted to sit there. He looked around my room, thankfully not looking too disgusted by my disorganization.

“Nice room,” he noted, “Did you decorate it yourself?” I shrugged. I hadn’t decorated it at all. Is Dmitri’s own room at home emptier than mine…? No, surely it isn’t. Even if it is empty, that’s no business of mine.

“Ooh, what’s this?” I turned my attention to a notebook Dmitri had picked off my desk. It’s a pretty cute notebook, if I do say so myself. It’s small and blue, and it’s my journal. I reach for it, hoping he’ll give it back, but he grins. I’ve made a horrible mistake. If I’d told him it was a school notebook he probably would have put it back down, but now I’ve reached for it and he’s going to snoop through my stuff. I get up and go to take it from him. Dmitri, shithead that he is, stands and holds it above my head. He’s much taller than me, nearly a foot taller. Normally I don’t mind, but this time he has something I want. I hop to reach it, but he holds it over his head. I’d need a ladder to reach it now, and Dmitri has already opened it to a recent page, so what’s the point?

“Hm, let’s see. ‘Dear Journal’. Nice one, Ri.” I sit back down and cover my face. Dmitri clears his throat and starts again. “’Dear Journal, today he asked me for dinner. Of course, I had to say no.’ Hey, isn’t this the day I asked you out to dinner and you rejected me?” I felt my face burn.

“Dmitri, give it back!” Goddammit. That was far too whiny, wasn’t it? I’m never getting that notebook back, am I? Dmitri grinned wider and looked back at the notebook.

“’Of course, I had to say no. I’d get in huge trouble if I said yes,’” he continued, “’and there’s no way I want to get arrested, so I told him I had too much homework. I kinda wish I’d said yes, but it’s too late now, it’s it? Oh well, it’s illegal anyway.’” Dmitri stopped and closed the notebook after a few moments of gazing at the page with an odd look on his face. He tossed it to me and I quickly shoved it under my pillow. “Do you… that was about me, right?” I cast my gaze upon a very interesting sock by the door. “I- Rilyn,” he said, his voice softening, “do you… have a crush on me?” My face burned. I shrugged.

“Why does it matter?” I mumble. I can’t even bring myself to look at him. All this is embarrassing, not to mention illegal. If this is a crush, I could get in serious trouble, worse than being grounded. It’s easier to avoid the whole mess altogether.

“Because I like you,” Dmitri says it like it’s obvious. I laugh. I don’t mean to, but it’s not the same. He says things that make my heart flutter and head spin, but he’s just like that. He can’t honestly believe I’d tell him if I had a crush on him. Can he? “I mean like, more than a friend, Ri.” Dmitri’s voice is gentle, softer than silk and sweeter than honey. There he goes again, making me feel like I’m dizzy. He knows exactly how to get to me like that, and I hate it. I want him to do it again.

I start to answer him, but a thought crosses my mind, sharp and stinging. What if all this is some kind of trick? A joke, one he expects to have a negative answer? What if he’s just trying to embarrass me, or what if he’s guessed and wants to turn me in? Surely Dmitri wouldn’t do that. Would he? Maybe… I heard you get some kind of huge reward for turning in people like that. Maybe that’s how he gets all his money. But surely he wouldn’t flirt with me only to turn me in…? If he’s being honest about liking me, then I have the chance to be with him. It’s still illegal, but you do hear of people having these relationships in secret, on the side. Maybe I could do that. On the other hand, if this is a joke, it’s a cruel one. One that’s getting my hopes up.

I can’t read Dmitri’s face at all. There’s no way of knowing what he’s thinking. He’s never exactly been an open book, but he’s more closed off now than I’ve ever seen him. He looks honest, but he could just be faking it. I’m not entirely sure if I’m overthinking it, although I’m almost sure that I am, so I suppose it really comes down to whether or not Dmitri’s worth it.

On one hand, he’s kind. He’s always gentle, even though he looks a bit like he wouldn’t be. He protects me from bullies and gets me things, even if I tell him not to. He flirts a lot, almost too much, but his flirting is always sweet. No matter what, he’s always acted like he cared about me, making me laugh when I’m sad or angry. It’s all that that made me like him, that made me have a crush on him, although he’s not bad looking either.

But… On the other hand, he’s almost aggressive with other people. He picks too many fights, and he never loses. He likes doing things that push or bend rules and laws. He thinks it’s all great fun, like getting in trouble in some sort of game. Sometimes his violence is good, like when people are bullying me or putting things where I can’t reach them. Dmitri’s certainly not afraid to take someone down a peg, but he’s not afraid of getting in trouble either. I’ve never seen him get arrested or fined or anything, though, but somehow that just worries me more.

Dmitri definitely has his good points, things that make me fall for him, but he does things that worry me sometimes. If I can’t decide what he means now, I could put my life in danger. I know what they do to people who are like this. They try and convert them, and if it doesn’t work, they’re executed. That’s what I heard, anyway. Do I really trust Dmitri enough to put my life in his hands? Do I think he’s worth it? I hate having to ask myself that question, almost as much as I hate that my immediate answer is a solid ‘yes’.

If I answer truthfully, and he’s joking around, there’s every chance I’ll be arrested, or worse, killed. If he’s not joking, we could still be killed, but only if we’re caught. The thought of running from the police both scares and excites me. If I lie, and he’s joking around, he’ll probably laugh and tease me a little. But if I lie and he’s not… I could shatter both our hearts in one swoop. I don’t know how girls do this crush thing, it seems far too stressful.

I can tell he’s expecting an answer, so I scan his face one more time. I take a deep breath. Is this worth it?


	3. Two: Dmitri

He’s taking way too long to answer. I worry if I’ve pushed him too far. He keeps glancing at me, but I can’t figure out what he’s looking for. I don’t have any answers for him. I can tell him that his heart rate is almost dangerously fast, but I can’t figure out if it’s good or not. Of course, I could have somehow misread this situation entirely. Perhaps he’s debating whether to call the police, but I doubt that. I’m hardly ever wrong. However, human emotions are harder to factor into calculations because they all act differently. Then again, Rilyn is predictable. It’s cute, actually.

“I do.” His voice almost startles me. It seems that, once again, I am right. I am, however, wrong in taking too long to respond to him, because a look of panic crosses his face, and it occurs to me he probably thinks I’m about to call the police. I smile.

“Knew it,” I answer. Fuck, that was too cocky, wasn’t it? Rilyn turns the reddest I’ve ever seen him. He looks away from me for a moment. ”I’m not gonna turn you in,” I tell him, “I meant what I said. I’m gay too, you know.” Rilyn is by my side almost faster than I can process. He looks upset, but I can’t decide if it’s anger or something else. He clings to my shirt like a lifeline, but unfortunately, this is the one time my amazing sense of style can’t help him.

“Don’t- don’t say that. I’m not- we aren’t- we _can’t_ be gay.” It’s definitely something else. It’s fear. Rilyn shakes his head. “I-I know what they do to people like u- like that. They kill them, Dmitri. I don’t… I don’t want…” Rilyn takes a deep breath and his hands find their way to my chest. “I can’t lose you.” I grin and his face is red once again. “I just meant- you’re my best friend. I don’t want you to die.” I shrug.

“Guess we’ll just have to not get caught then.” I take Rilyn’s face in my hands. How do I calm him…? I can’t imagine anything I do is going to make him feel safe, especially since his parents push for immediate execution of homosexuals. I’ve never had an issue calming Rilyn before, so hopefully, my luck isn’t about to run out.

“I’ll keep you safe.” Nice. That’s a good start, right? “I’ve always protected you, haven’t I? I’m not about to stop now. I promise, Ri.” Rilyn melts. He relaxes, and although there’s a slight spike in his heart rate, he calms quickly. I pull him into a tight hug and he presses his face into my chest. He’s silent for a few seconds. He’s shaky, so I hold him tighter and adjust my temperature just enough to be comforting. When he stops quivering, he turns his head to the side and speaks softly.

“How are you so calm all the time? I can’t even hear your heartbeat.” If I had a heart, I’m sure it would have stopped. I’d tell him, but it would almost definitely change his feelings for me.

“Being around you just makes me brave, I guess.” Rilyn laughs. Perfect, good job me. I’ve always been good at making up bullshit on the spot. Luckily, my bullshit still works on Rilyn. He steps back and wipes his eyes. I hadn’t realized he was crying. “Oh, Ri…” I grab a tissue box off his desk and hold it out. He takes a tissue and I lead him to his bed and sit him down.

Maybe now wasn’t a good time to tell him I liked him. ‘Like’ was a weak word. I’d had a crush on him since I first saw him. Although something tells me he doesn’t need to hear that right now. I shouldn’t have said what I did at the café. All I did was make him think about how they punish gay people. Honestly, we shouldn’t have to worry in the first place. Since when did love ever hurt anyone? Still, I don’t want Rilyn getting hurt, so if I have to leave, I wi-

“Can I kiss you?” I blink. Of all the questions I anticipated Rilyn asking me, that was… not one of them. I suppose I must have let my surprise show on my face, because Ri turns away from me. “N-never mind, I shouldn’t have asked something like that, sorry.” Rilyn’s always been the shy one. It’s cute that he managed to ask. I’m proud of him.

“Of course you can.”

“What?” Rilyn whips his head around so fast I almost feel the whiplash myself. I blink several times and wonder if I accidentally imagined the whole scenario.

“Of course you can kiss me. You don’t need to ask.” I speak slowly, afraid of making him too nervous, but luckily for me, this is not the case, because Ri grabs my shirt by the collar.

“You’re _supposed_ to ask first, idiot.” He kisses me like he’s never kissed anyone before at all, which is probably true, but the way he holds onto my shirt makes it feel more like he’s just scared that when he lets go, I’ll be gone. _Oh, Ri… you always were the sensitive one._ I untangle one of his hands from my shirt and pull him closer by it. His heart rate spikes and a noise catches in his throat. His grip on my shirt loosens and his free hand finds its way up into my hair. He pulls and if I felt pain it might have hurt, but all that registers is the feeling of my hair being tugged. He’s still holding onto me like I’ll disappear if he doesn’t, but now there’s no fear behind it, there’s more want on his grip and it hurts me to pull away from him. He needs to catch his breath. I’m right, Rilyn’s breathing is borderline panting. I doubt he would have pulled away first judging from how he’s still clinging to my hand.

“Ri… my hand.” He turns a light shade of pink and loosens his grip.

“S-sorry,” he mumbles.

A car door slams in the driveway, ripping Rilyn’s attention away from me. The color drains from his face and he practically shoves me off the bed. He cleans his room, moving faster than I’ve ever seen him move. His parents hate me, but there’s really no way I can leave without being seen, so I guess I’ll just have to stay. I sit myself at his desk and flip open a textbook. I toss Ri a notebook and he sits cross-legged on his bed. We only get to the second vocabulary word before his mother comes in, followed closely by Rilyn’s shitty older brother Blake. Ri’s mom gives me a disdainful look and informs Rilyn that she brought dinner in a tight voice. She turns on her heel and stalks back down the stairs. Blake, unfortunately, stays.

“You bringing your _boyfriend_ to dinner, Ri?” Blake crosses his arms and leans against the door.

“I don’t know,” Rilyn sneers, “are you bringing your girlfriend? Oh, right, you have to. She’s attached to your right arm.” Blake glares at Rilyn before following his mother down the stairs. Only when Rilyn closes the door again do I laugh. Blake is an ass, and he never seems to keep a girlfriend for very long. Ri never lets him forget it. He sighs and tosses his notebook on the desk.

“Well, good to know he’s just as charming as ever,” I say. I earn a snort from Rilyn, who plops himself in my lap like he’s done it dozens of times.

“Tell me about it. He’s been extra awful lately.” I nod. He seemed extra shitty, and I’m glad it’s not just me who noticed. Rilyn leans his head on my shoulder and keeps it there until his mom yells for him. “You should probably leave now,” Rilyn sighs out, “they’d kill me if I let you stay for dinner.” He stands and stretches, making his shirt ride up ever so slightly. Nice. I stand and grab my things.

“I guess I’ll be off then.” I lean down to kiss Rilyn’s forehead before leading the way down the stairs. “Bye, Mr. and Mrs. Jonson!” I call cheerfully. I hear Ri’s dad grunt in disapproval and his mother mutter something rather rude. I definitely don’t want to leave Rilyn here. I want nothing more than to take Rilyn with me, but I don’t think he’d do well on his own yet. I only hope he gets the decision to leave himself.

-

My house certainly isn’t the best. I doubt it can be considered a house. It’s more like a shelter. I live in the Lower class district of Province Three, so it’s really just a building full of people who can barely afford to live there. A boarding house, really. I feel bad, knowing I can’t help these people, but hacking into the currency server and adding more Bolts to a card only works for one person, and that person is me. Do it for a whole house of people and the Government gets suspicious. Right now, they could care less, so at least there’s that.

“Yo, D.” I look up. One of the house’s other residents stands in the doorway. He looks drunk. “A letter came for you today. Like, on paper an’ shit.” He holds out a stained envelope. God, I hope it came like that. I take it and open it. It’s been printed, not handwritten.

**Dmitri-**

**We need you to come back.**

**Hurry.**

**-R**

Thanks, ‘R’. That’s not super vague or anything. I stare at it for a few moments. Who do I know that would feel it’s safe to use my name, but not theirs? Who is this who feels endangered enough to not even include a return address? Is this someone playing a prank? It can’t be Rilyn, from what I know he doesn’t know how to send a paper letter. They fell out of style decades ago, hardly anyone uses them. The only people who do are those that don’t want to be traced.

“Who’s it from?” I look back up at the drunk in the doorway. He can’t seriously think I’m about to tell him who wrote me a letter. I narrow my eyes. A very quick scan of him tells me he’s not drunk, but he is wiretapped. This letter didn’t reach me now because of an emergency. The sender isn’t in fear of his life. The initial is all the Government knows. Do they seriously think they can catch me or trip me up? I start to answer, but before I can get anything out, the building around me explodes into flame.


End file.
